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Ottakar Grant
= Inquisitor Ottakar Grant, Ordo Xenos = Physical stats Date of Birth: (4)295832.M41 Place of Birth: Sairtar, Seltheran Sector (Ultima Segmentum) Gender: Male Height: 149 cm / 4' 11" Weight: 76 kg without power armour Physical appearance: Although Grant is by no means the tallest of Inquisitors, he makes up for his short stature with considerable muscle mass and augmetics, and still manages to present himself as an imposing figure despite barely reaching most people's shoulders. His right side still bears the all-too-recent scars from a psychic attack, and his right arm, leg and ear have all been replaced with cybernetics. Grant has dark skin, large brown eyes, and shoulder-length black dreadlocks. A prominent scar runs horizontally beneath his right eye, though Grant has opted to have it modified into an Aquila tattoo. When not wearing his power armour, Grant favours loose, smart-casual clothing in varying shades of grey. Personality Grant is not one for overly long bureaucratical or political proceedings, and prefers to simply get to the heart of the matter with a minimum of fuss. Nor is he especially fond of formal etiquette, speaking in direct or overly familiar language and regularly lighting cigarettes in public places. Grant is also notoriously difficult to unsettle, although his patience has a very definite limit and he can often come across as being overly irritable. Grant's approach to problems tends towards pragmatism and blunt efficiency, often at the expense of those around him, though despite the inevitable disapproval of his peers, his methods get results one way or another. Grant also displays a tendency towards pyromania, and as such, is inevitably found carrying at least one incendiary or explosive weapon. He is also a nicotine addict, and will typically be found smoking a cigarette. Beliefs Grant, although arguably a puritan, is apolitical, and has little to no interest in the rivalries between the various Puritan and Radical factions. Unlike many of his peers, he is surprisingly lenient in his dealings with other Inquisitors, though prefers to avoid dealing with "new blood" as he does not want the responsibility of mentoring an Interrogator -- whether Grant sees himself as a poor influence is open to speculation. Although Grant is Ordo Xenos, his career began in the Ordo Hereticus. Owing to Grant's previous location on the Eastern Fringe before moving to Segmentum Pacificus, many of the cults and heretic groups that he encountered were actually xenoist rebels rather than Chaos worshippers. However, Grant's subsequent transferral to the Ordo Xenos, as a result of his frequent conflicts with the Enemy Without, has done little to shake his belief that the greatest danger to Humanity stems from Humanity itself. To that end, Grant's primary focus is on countering the use of proscribed xenotech, as he believes that possessing and utilising these objects is just the first step on a slippery slope towards Mankind forgetting its own position in the universe. One unfortunate side-effect of Grant's attitude towards xenoist cults is his similar disdain for Redemptionist movements. Not long after having transferred to the Ordo Xenos Norikian in 950.M41, Grant put pen to paper and produced a tract entitled Citizens Beware! -- Is Your Neighbour A Xenoist? after encountering one Tauist cult too many. While his intended audience was loyal civilians on vulnerable Eastern Fringe worlds, local Redemptionist groups latched onto Citizens Beware! almost instantly and used it as an excuse to launch violent, often self-destructive campaigns against Imperial cities. Grant has since dissociated himself from such groups and is still cautious of even mainstream elements of the Ecclesiarchy. Abilities As a natural result of Grant's stature and slow speed, he is ill-suited to melee combat and is frequently outmanoeuvered and outdistanced by larger and more agile opponents. As such, Grant eschews it altogether, but is still very able to stun or stagger an opponent with a single blow even outside of his power armour. Fully armoured, Grant has been known to employ his not-inconsiderable bulk aggressively, even turning himself into something of a human cannonball on occasion to knock his opponents down or inflict collateral damage to his surroundings. Grant prefers ranged combat, typically with explosive or incendiary weapons. He has become adept at employing shock-and-awe tactics in his dealings with heretic cells, but typically does not have the patience for drawn-out encounters or battles of attrition. He is a respectable shot at short range, but cannot match the precision of a trained marksman and often employs up to a full squad of Storm Troopers to make up for his shortcomings at longer ranges. While Grant forms loose bonds of camaraderie easily, earning the genuine respect of his peers and servants is a harder task and Grant prefers to keep his friends close. Coupled with his ability to keep cool under fire, Grant makes for a fine leader on a squad or fireteam level, but relies heavily on the support of others to direct larger groups. Equipment Grant's weapon preferences naturally result in him using anything from bolt pistols to heavy flamers to anything in between, depending on the situation. His iconic black-and-chrome power armour, constructed over a period of several years to adequately accommodate his frame, is equipped with a forearm mount on the left wrist that can house a standard Mars-pattern hand flamer. It also houses a small refractor field generator in the collar to protect his head, as Grant tends to forego the use of a helmet in order to smoke. Grant also favours a Solemne-pattern bolt pistol with an eight-round box magazine, and prefers inferno and Metal Storm bolts for his work. However, these special bolts are prohibitively expensive and difficult to acquire for prolonged use; as such, it is in fact more common to see Grant employing a six-shot grenade launcher, owing to the greater relative availability of ammunition. He also keeps a standard Guard-issue laspistol, most recently a Sagittar-pattern, as a backup weapon. Although not strictly "equipment", Grant has recently acquired the decommissioned Cobra-class destroyer Dragonfly. Originally belonging to Battlefleet Ultima, then purchased privately after being decommissioned and passing through many hands since then, the Dragonfly came into Grant's possession after its most previous owner, Inquisitor Asgeir Yngvésson, attacked several of Grant's peers at the expense of his own life. TheDragonfly itself was impounded, but later purchased directly by Grant, prior to his departure to Carthax. Involvement in Carthax As a native of Ultima Segmentum, Grant has been asked on numerous occasions why he is, in fact, on the exact opposite side of the Imperium. His reasons have varied from visiting old acquaintances (namely, the late Inquisitor Gideon Antal), to carrying out research on Orkish ubiquity, to chasing leads on the Cold Trade of xeno artifacts. While none of his explanations necessarily contradict the other, all are somewhat difficult to verify; coupled with his arrival in the sector not long before the Carthage Massacre, Grant has understandably made few friends in the sector Conclave, even within his own Ordo. Following Carthage, Grant has been most active within the Antonine Cluster. Quotes "When ... whatever it was wrecked the place, this giant lump of ceiling fell on your head. Thought you were a goner, Ottakar, it damn near caved in your skull." "I've survived worse. I've been run over before." "That thing with the power-trike doesn't count." -- Inquisitor Antal (deceased) to Ottakar Grant, during the Carthage Massacre "Change of plan. Get this man some medical attention; that's going to be one hell of a bruise." -- Grant, on "knocking some sense into" Inquisitor Glosche, during the Carthage Massacre "I'm going to be forthright. I cannot trust you, else I wouldn't be doing my job properly." "Your honesty is welcomed, if unnecessary, Inquisitor Rhodes. I doubt anyone here is extending their full trust." "We understand each other then." -- Inquisitor Rhodes to Ottakar Grant "He's out of his mind." "I think the correct term, my dear, is dangerously pragmatic." -- Maya Avens and Inquisitor Antal (deceased), on Grant's approach to dismantling a fake wall "Thank you for your opinion." -- Grant, to numerous people on numerous occasions